Folding crate for eggs and other products



- C. L. LEONARD.

FOLDING CRATE FOR EGGS AND OTHER PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FI LED FEB. 27, 1920.

Patented Jan. 3, 1922..

v 21 ZSHEETS-SHEETL C. L. LEONARD.

FOLDING CRATE FOR EGGS AND OTHER PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 27' 1920.

1,401,993, Patented Jan. 3,1922.

1 2 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- C. L L EDA/6'80 v flttozmag entree SQFFEQE,

FOLDING CRATE FOB EGGS AND OTHER PRODUCTS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 3, 1922.

Application filed February 27, 1920. Serial No. 361,615.

1 0 all to 710m it may concern Be it known that l, CAswnLL Len LEON-ARD, a citizen of the Jnited States, residin at Corinth, in the countyof rrlcorn and State of Mississippi, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Folding Crates for Eggs and other Products, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to shipping crates, and has for its object theprovision of a novel and inoroved fold'ng crate for shipping eggs andother products, which can be collapsed flat so to be stored or returnedwithin small compass, thereby saving space anc transportation cost.

Another object is the provision of such a crate constructed of sheetmetal having its walls and top and bottom hingedlv connected in a novelmanner, to fold together compactly, and to aiford rigidity when thecrate or box is uniolded and erected, the arrangement being such thecrate v withstand the wear and -ear which is subected in use.

A still further object is the provision of novel hinge connectionsbetween the walls whereby they can be folded together'with t is usual toble ego cells or ill therein, and said walls beingprovided li m forretaining said fillers therein, especially when the ore to is folded.

It is also the object of the invention to provide such a crate which canbe manufactured conveniently and cheaply from sheet metal and which willbe thoroughly practical an efiicie' in use.

With the rorego. and other objects in view, which will be apparent asthe description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction andarrangement of parts here inafter described and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes can be made within tne scope of what is claimedwithout depar ing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accom-i panying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a perspective view of the crate when empty, and the topswung open.

Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical sections of the crate at right angles to oneanother, portions being broken away, and Fig. 3 showing the top andbottom swung open in dotted lines.

Fig. 4: is a plan view showing the crate partly folded.

As shown, the crate or box is in the form of a cube although it can beof various rectangular shapes and sizes. The crate comprises the sheetmetal front wall 6, rear wall 'Z, side walls 8 and 9, top 10 and bottom11. The adjacent vertical edges of the front wall 6 and side wall 9 arehingedly connected, as at 12, and the adjacent vertical edges of theback wall 7 and side wall 8 are similarly hinged, as at 13, said hingescoinciding with the corresponding diagonally opposite corners of thecrate. The opposite vertical edge of the front wall 6 has a flange orportion 14 extending rearwardly at right angles, and hingedly connected,as at 15, to the forward vertical edge of the side wallS, and,similarly, the vertical edge of the rear wall 7 opposite to the hinge 13has a flange or portion 16 extending forwardly at right an 'les andhingedly connected, as at 17, with the rear vertical edge of the sidewall 9. The hinges 15 and 1? are therefore located short distances awayfrom the corresponding corners of the crate, whereby when the walls arefolded together, as suggested in Fig. 4, they will be spaced apartparallel with one another, allowing a spacefor other parts. Thisarrangementalso enables the walls to be folded into a flat position withthe walls 8 and 10 flush, and the walls 9 and 11 also flush. The top 10has its rear end hingedly connected, as ati18, to the upper edge of therear wall 7, and the bottom 11 is'similarly hinged, as at 19, at itsforward edge to the lower edge of the front wall 6, whereby the top canswing open rearwardly, while the bottom can be swung open forwardly.Thus, in folding the box, when the walls are folded together, the topcan be swung against the outer side of the rear wall 7, while the butts22 with which the hinge butts 21 register when the top and bottom areclosed. Bods 23- are then slid through the registering hinge butts 21and '22, to securely hold the top and bottom closed, and to stiffen andreinforce the corresponding corners of the crate. Each rod'23 preferablyhas a finger piece or eye 24: at one end for convenience in insertingandwithdrawing the rod.

The upper andlower edges of the side walls 8 and 9 are provided withflanges or lips 25 extending :inwa-rdly at an angle,

serving to stiffen said edges of the side walls, as well asto retain theordinary eggoell fillers 26 Within the crate, especially when it isfolded. These fillers 26-are of well known form, comprising partitionscrossing one another and foldable together, and'these fillers aredisposed one above the other in a tier with horizontal partitions 27between the fillers for supporting the eggs in the cells; These fillersare used when'the crateis employed for shipping eggs, and the flanges 25overlap the upper and lower fillers to retain them in place, althoughthe fillers can be removed by hand in emptying the crate. Then, inplacing the fillers back into the crate after it has been emptied, theea.

titions 27, instead of being between the fillers, are 1nserted adjacentto one wall of the crate, being shown in Fig. i as being dis-' posedagainst the rear wall. The crate can then be folded, the top. and bottombeing swung outwardly against the rear and front walls, and the hinges12 and 18 being moved toward one another. The'iillers 26 will told withthe walls, and will be retained in the space between the walls, asprovided by the r flanges 14 and 16, and the flanges are ofsubstantially the same width as the flanges l4 andldto close saidspaeeat the top and bottom, whereby to retain the fillers 26 andpartitions 27 within the folded crate. When the crate is thus "folded,it will require but little space in storing or returning same, and

about tentolded crates can be stored "or shipped. in the space required,for a single crate when erected. Those ends of the flanges 25 adjacentto, the flangeslt and 16 terminate short of the said flanges 14- and 16and the corresponding walls '6 and 7, to

permit the crate to close and the said ends or" the fianges 25 to moveadjacent to the flanges Hand 16. The side walls'S and 9 are preferablyprovided with handles28. for convenience in'liftingor carrying thecrate,

and which can be swung downwardly against said walls when not muse.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is I Afolding crate comprising four sheet metal walls,said walls being hingedat two diagonally opposite corners, twoopposite walls having flanges attheir other corners extending at an angle and hinged to the other walls,a top and'a bottom each hinged to one of the first named walls, the lastnamed walls having flanges at their upper second named flanges, whenthey are in closed position. 7

in testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

caswELL LEE LEONARD.

